My Last Breath
by The Legend of Rune Factory
Summary: Zelda never put much thought into what she wanted to do with her last breath when the time came. Tell someone she loved them? Leave instructions for Hyrule, perhaps? Either way, she'd get to make the decision sooner than she hoped for...


**Hey, I know some of you were probably expecting a new chapter of Remembering The Spirit Tracks (which I will have soon!), but I recently became a fan of Evanescence, and I was inspired to write this after listening to "My Last Breath" over, and over, and over, and over again. This doesn't really take place during any game, and yes, I DO realize that it's very cliche, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>I never thought that death would be so…calming.<p>

"Come on, stay with me!"

In honesty I never once thought that I may die so suddenly, so soon without doing all that I wanted to do.

"ZELDA!"

My eyes snapped open. Yes, that's right; Link was here. But why, again? Why was he here, and why was I dying… A dry laugh caught my ears. Moving my head to the right, I saw the large form of Ganondorf bleeding all over my throne room. He was dying too?

"Link, I…" I coughed then, blood speckling my lips. The memory of the wound in my abdomen surged with the pain.

"You're gonna be just fine, Zelda. Just hold on a little longer. Just a little longer!" He looked around furtively. "Guards! Impa! ANYONE!"

I noticed the scared glint in his eyes. Reaching up to touch his cheek, I chuckled softly. "Link, it's useless."

"No, Zelda, it's not useless!" He continued to yell for help.

I placed my finger on his lips. "Shh… Please stop. Don't waste your energy."

He held me in his arms, his hand shaking as he gently brushed away a stray bit of hair that fell across my forehead. "I don't want you to die."

"And you really think I do?" I giggled softly, smiling in light of this otherwise dreary situation.

"Why did you do that? Why did you put yourself in front of me? Hyrule needs a leader, not a hero!" Tears began to pool in his icy eyes.

"Because, Link, I…" Darkness began to edge my vision. I knew I didn't have much time left. For once in my life, I honestly didn't know what to say. I wanted to make good use of my last few breaths, but how?

I inhaled deeply. "Because, Link, I love you and I didn't want you to die. I don't… I don't regret it. I want you to live your life with or without me, understand?" With that, I exhaled the rest. One.

"I understand." A tear snaked down his face and landed on my cheek. "Zelda, I'm not ready to say good-bye. Not now."

I blinked rapidly to stave away the blackness. I couldn't go under. Not yet. Inhale… "I know, Link, I know. I want you to kiss me." Hold…

"What?" He seemed confused by my request. I knew it was sudden, first telling him that I loved him and now ordering a kiss, but I didn't want to die without experiencing that. Before I would've been perfectly content to wait until the right time, but now I didn't have that time.

"Kiss me. Now." _And be quick with it, I can't hold this breath much longer…!_

He nodded and pressed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling and the taste. It was a bit more salty than what I always imagined and read about, but that was most likely due to the fact that he was crying at the moment. Just as I thought I would faint from lack of oxygen, I pulled away.

"Thank you…" I exhaled slowly. Two…

"I'll miss you, Zelda. Impa and I will do something with Hyrule. Ganondorf is dead and his reign is over. You don't have anything to worry about." He buried his nose in my hair. "I love you, my princess."

I didn't know how I wanted to spend my last breath. My vision slid from dark to light, over and over, and I knew that this was the end. I never once thought about how I wanted to use my last seconds in Hyrule, and I certainly never expected to be forced to decide this soon. With nothing better to do, I inhaled one last time.

Link gazed down at me through his tears. My eyes flitted over his face, examining every last shred of detail. I wanted to remember him as long as I could. I reached up to simply touch his blonde hair, to run my fingers through it before my arm fell limply by my side. _Hold… Come on, hold…_

Darkness closed in swiftly, so much so that I was powerless to stop it. Link's face slowly disappeared from my vision, leaving me with only the parting words that reverberated in my ears. "Zelda! Don't die on me!"

I exhaled what little air I had left. My body went limp and in my mind's eye everything was black. I could no longer hear Link, yet I knew that he was most likely shouting my name. A white light appeared in the distance.

My legs began moving me toward it. The light seemed welcoming. I began running, eager to see what awaited me. As it came closer I realized exactly what it was. The Sacred Realm. The final resting place of Hyrulians. And I stood right on the edge of death and an already ended life.

A voice beckoned me to step forward, to come into the light. It sounded like my deceased mother, and for a moment I wondered if it were she calling me. I looked back over my shoulder one last time. "Good-bye, Link…" Then, I walked forward.

_Three._

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it. I haven't played a Zelda game in a while, so I'm not entirely sure if using the Sacred Realm for Hyrulian Heaven works... It makes sense to me, at least. <strong>

**Reviews are appreciated!**

**-LoRF**


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